Reports from China suggest the site has been shut down temporarily on orders from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (Sarft). If that is the case, the issues are likely to focus on the type of content available on the site.
The site has been down since the evening of 3 June. A statement from 56.com reported in Chinese media said it was suffering server problems. However, one source close to the company said it would be "really odd" for technical problems to have forced them offline for so long. 56.com executives could not be reached for comment.
56.com is one of China's three big online video players, the others being Tudou and Youku. In a recent interview with Digital Media, Jay Chang (pictured), president of 56.com, described earlier instances of site shutdowns as "unfortunate", adding: "It cast doubts onto our sector, which were not warranted and isolated to only a few bad players."
Sarft is in the process of issuing licences to operate online video sites under regulations brought in earlier this year. It has set strict content guidelines barring material such as pornography or violence. In March Tudou was reportedly issued with a shutdown warrant from Sarft
According to Victor Koo, CEO of Youku, disruptions to sites can damage the confidence both of consumers and advertisers. "The key issue for online video sites is proving that they are a safe environment for advertisers," he said.
